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In traditional fashion, things are now moving at their own speeds. I cannot even complain. Verses for Giants fall? nope. not good. 
Lyrics and melody for Wealth By Stealth? Close but no cigar. Yeah that's on me.
I am spending my time listening to nice sounds and mixing nice sounds and reading stuff.
We'll get there when we get there. 
HA!
hell no. wtf. Let's go! Ok fellows, fellows?
(sigh)
Someone pack my mule I got a windmill to hunt down.
(things are going well, I just gotta be patient)

Heck of a solid friday. Many thanks to all the cellar dwellers who helped :) I know COVID slowed things down a bit but that was the culmination of...crikey..it's possible that was 7+ years between concept and delivery. wow. 

World kept turning while I was occupado...and thus this week back to mixing. Our thanks to JohnnyG for piano contributions, and to Hariry for Cello.

I am digging the heck out of 'giant's fall' I gotta write lyrics but I am having too good a time listening to the sounds and messing with it in teeeny tiny ways. 

So...round up so far this year.

1. something to go by - out as a single
2. Head in the clouds - ditto
3. we will not be forgotten - single + vid
4. dreams of better days

Yadda yadda singles V Albums, Yadda Yadda how does music even work, blah blah aims of getting two albums out this year. Wibble Wibble.

According to my....SPREADSHEET (I confess I LOVE THEM) we have 5 in mixing. This is like watching the grass grow. It happens when it happens. 

Almost all the cellar dweller t shirts have been despatched, we've had a really quiet almost 2 months between gigs and things are ticking over. It's all as it can be and is and that's plenty fine with me.

Nothing to do but to live and get on with it. that's the plan. Yay.

Oh yeah, here's the thing from friday. It's cute.

I'm finishg up on a long term project this weekend, with the help of the stormcellar community :) it's nice.

In mixing land, I am waiting on:
1 X bass
1 X cello
2 X guitar
2X lyrics...maybe...3X lyrics
at least 1X percussion.

This is sooo different. Ish. I mean I guess except for everything since covid. Ok maybe this is the new normal. Is this normal?



So far the decision has been release each one as it comes out. which works for me because....technical reasons.

Also though how long have we been talking album shmalbum? 

Anyway. I'm in action on Project X, then after that, it's time to round up the posse and find them stray parts. I reckon we're soooo close. and here's me think we'd get two out this year. Bah humbug.

It's a weird process this one. I'm so used to the 'we've only got 4 days in the studio get on with it' way we made the stuff so far and now this...laid back...sort of...it comes when it comes deal.

Oh yeah and happy Birthday to Danny Cox!

Right. So yeah. Another three tracks are getting towards completion. Plus some new guide tracks courtesy of an evening with Coggers. Oh and a thanks to Pat Powell for some backin vox on another unfinished one.

By my reckoning, we're about to see another burst which will bring us to....ummmm...2/3 of an album? Does it matter? Is anyone still listening in that manner?

Mr Wizard suggested 'Records' are a better way to describe this stuff, as it's a record of where you were at musically. That makes sense.

Ok so I can report, as we have no destination and no schedule we're right on time and target! WOOHOO!

Right, back to mixing.

Stopped to update the development list today, added 2 new seeds.

Noted that this year we have put out:

7 videos

5 Singles.

Now if you consider that 2 of the singles were rebuilds from archival stuff, then that means we've only achieved a rate of 5/7, or .71 tracks per month.

If I recall the heady days of Nuevo Retro and Carl's Chair I think we may have hit a rate of 1.1-1.3 per month.

Contextually, that was when we had more gigs to pay for studio time and other people than me doing the mixing. 

Of course, I am aiming to finish those two other unplugged tracks for release and that'll get us closer to parity and yet...I was hoping to see a little more, cos the greenhouse has so much growing.

Thing is, doing the mixing and the mastering (please take this cup away from me) has really made this batch of songs ...different. In a career of difference it's different again. It's just more different. Not that it's all that surprising.

I did think a lot about Pet Sounds and not inferring any touch of genius that Brian Wilson posessed, I can see exactly why he started doing cool new sounds cos he had BUTTONS. And it turns out, I firkin love buttons. Who knew? And no so much the musical instrument version but the sonic stuff.

I luuuurve the sonic masters. Lanois. Dark side of the moon. Jarre. Air. bad ass tape sounds (in loving memory of John McConnell may he rest in peace). It's not that I reckon I can emulate them or get to where those cats got, cos that's some heavy stuff, but it sure is fun looking. 

We've worked with some gifted mixers. As the man says, 'gotta know your limitations' so I am looking forward to the day where a deluge of cash sends me to Re Mastering. I reckon MidnIght in memphis needs a better mix than I...ah but I digress in the reasonable concern about doing justice to the good work the boys have done. 

On the other hand...new ideas and new things and it's been interesting.

With the short term conclusion of WWNBF (they guys are itching to mess with it for the album version...hang on are we doing albums...ok well I know extended at least cos there's another part..did I mention there's another part? I digress #2)...ahem...I am on to mixing the next lot of stuff, including what I think are two very lowbrow pieces, cos we love lowbrow chunka chunka pieces cos theyre fun to play and easy to dance to.

That means putting away all the big smart clever stuff and doing it simply. Eek!.....or does it....

I think we may have settled on an acceptable work flow and release approach for the time being. I'm not sure how this works and I am not sure it matters that I am not sure. Maybe.

In any case, you may have noticed by now my blogging seems to be: working on material, material worked on or silence. Cos I am working on material. Also gigs have been few between cos...the times...stuff?

Anyway. I think we can kick back, chill a bit and see what comes out when it comes out. when we get enough, whammo, it's an..album...thing...playlist...what have you.



So I'd expect a little more quiet, a few more blogs complaining about random crap followed by a few more songs. Good times!